Tea is the steady companion of the Scottish day, and each hotel, no matter how humble, stocks its rooms with supplies for brew-ups: electric pot for boiling water, ceramic pot for brewing, china cups and small tea-creamers, a great number of teas, honey, fresh milk, and lemons. This is a delight and astonishment, for not only is there no such thing in American hotels, but room service even in respectable ones, when asked for tea with milk, can deliver a plastic jug of tepid water covered by a square of Saran Wrap, and a drinking glass of milk. To request tea in an American office is often to throw the receptionist into a swivet(狂亂): he or she believes that there is tea somewhere in the corporate foot closet, but where? One prefers not to ask rather than to send this person on a scavenger(清道夫)mission, especially because the tea, if found, is a grim bag-tea like Red Rose.
It is nearing four o'clock in the afternoon, and sure enough, parked just off the road, overlooking the pungent(刺激性的)tidal flats, we come upon a small caravan camper with its aluminum door open to a late-middle-aged Scottish couple, sitting at a folding table, taking tea and biscuits. Passing by, one only has a glimpse: his thick, white socks and heavy black shoes; her plump pear form and print dress; the electric kettle on the table. The archaeologists are puzzled as to why the people of ancient Skara Brae would locate their huts so close to the sea, and have guessed that in fact the settlement was originally located in a protected hollow, that time has eroded the shoreline inland toward the huts. That would make sense. Indeed, when presented at Skara Brae with the lure of a sparkling sea and the howling wind, we ourselves tucked into the hollow of a dune for lunch, eating cheese and apples in the sun with wind skimming our heads, blowing the sand into rippling ridges, flattening the beach grasses. Probably the archaeologists are right, but this utterly typical sense of Scottish domesticity merrily planted at the edge of harsh cliffs, afternoon tea conducted in the wind and cold, suggests another possibility.
1. We learn from the passage that tea plays _____ in Scottish daily life.
2. By saying “often to throw the receptionist into a swivet”(Line 8, Para. 1), the author suggests that in American office tea is _____.
3. According to the archaeologists, where was the original location of the settlement of the people of ancient Skara Brae?
4. While having lunch at Skara Brae, we had to _____ to avoid the howling wind.
5. Another possibility about the settlement of the people of ancient Skara Brae is _____.
文章精要:
文章描述了蘇格蘭人對(duì)茶的特殊喜愛,并從考古學(xué)的角度簡(jiǎn)單描述了茶對(duì)蘇格蘭人聚居地的意義。
答案解析:
1. an important role
推斷題。通讀全文可知,文章主要圍繞蘇格蘭人對(duì)茶的特殊喜愛而展開。文章開篇就說了Tea is the steady companion of the Scottish day“茶是蘇格蘭人日常生活固定的伴侶”,由此可推斷,茶在蘇格蘭人的日常生活中起著重要作用。play an important role in就是“在……中起重要作用”的意思。
2. not readily offered
推斷題。根據(jù)題目找到...throw the receptionist into a swivet,冒號(hào)后部分he or she believes that there is tea somewhere...but where對(duì)其進(jìn)行說明,由此可推斷在美國(guó)的辦公室很少提供茶。
考點(diǎn)歸納
● throw into意為“使人陷于混亂狀態(tài)”,如:I throw him into a mess. 我讓他變得一團(tuán)糟。
● throw over意為“拋棄,拒絕”,如:How could he throw over his best friend? 他怎么能拋棄他最好的朋友呢?
3. In a protected hollow.
細(xì)節(jié)題。文章的第二段指出考古學(xué)家猜測(cè)他們(people of ancient Skara Brae)的居住地最初位于一個(gè)有保護(hù)的洞穴里,即in a protected hollow。
4. tuck into the hollow of a dune
細(xì)節(jié)題。第二段指出...we ourselves tucked into the hollow of a dune for lunch...,即在Skara Brae吃午飯,我們得藏進(jìn)沙丘洞里。
考點(diǎn)歸納
● tuck into意為“藏進(jìn)”,如:The gangs tucked the drugs into a hole. 那群人把毒品藏到洞里。
● tuck up意為“折起”,如:Please tuck the chair up. 請(qǐng)把椅子折起來。
5. the typical sense of Scottish domesticity
細(xì)節(jié)題。由題干中的possibility定位到文章最后一句可知,絕對(duì)典型的蘇格蘭式的生活方式暗示著另外一種可能性。文章最后一句為but連接的并列句,后一個(gè)分句的主干是this utterly typical sense of Scottish domesticity suggests another possibility; merrily planted at the edge of harsh cliffs用來修飾Scottish domesticity,其后的“在冷風(fēng)中享用下午茶”也用來進(jìn)一步說明Scottish domesticity。
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